The present invention relates to a load carriers and in particular to a load carrier for coupling to a vehicle, such as might typically be coupled to the rear of a vehicle for the transport of bicycles or the like.
It is known to provide a load carrier for a vehicle, and one known type of such a load carrier comprises a loading frame and a supporting arch extending upwardly from and substantially transversely to a loading area of the loading frame. This type of load carrier usually further comprises connecting members for coupling the load carrier to the rear of the vehicle.
One particular prior art load carrier is disclosed in EP-1095820, which is adapted for connection to a tow hitch of the vehicle for carrying cargo such as bicycles. An inverted “U” shaped retaining bar rises from a platform of the load carrier and supports some bicycle holders.
One problem with load carriers of the general type under consideration herein is that, when they are not in use, they are extremely bulky and therefore awkward to store or to transport. In order to address this problem, load carriers have been produced in which the retaining bar/supporting arch is tiltable in such a way that it can be folded down over the loading frame. However, the supporting arch is for the most part so high that, when folded down, it extends beyond the platform/loading frame, which means that many of the storage problems continue to exist.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,670,935 a collapsible cycle carrier is proposed in which a pair of upright support arms are joined to each other by means of a cross-bar which extends between them. The arrangement proposed involves three beams used together to form the cycle support, with multiple pivot points. In collapsing the cycle carrier, it is necessary to first fold the cross bar into the support arm to which it remains attached. It can be seen that, even after detaching the cross bar, at least one preparatory operation is needed before one of the two support arms can be pivoted down. Therefore, at least three pivoting movements are required to collapse this prior art carrier. Furthermore, construction of that arm is complicated and the technique used to connect the crossbar to the other support arm is basic and unsuited to the current market place for such products.
A further drawback with some previous load carriers is that arms used to connect the load carrier to the vehicle take up space when the load carrier is not in use. One prior art load carrier with less than ideal stowage of vehicle connection arms is proposed in WO-94/05526.
There is clearly a continuing need to develop load carriers which are suitable for use with vehicles and which occupy less storage space when not in use than some current types.